Born: 2001;

Place of Birth: United States;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: American;

General Info:
Matin Azizi-Yarand is a former Plano high school student was sentenced Monday to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to an Islamic State-inspired plot to commit mass murder at a Collin County mall.

He discussed his plans with an undercover FBI employee to “run and gun” with firearms blazing at the Stonebriar Centre Mall in Frisco and to kill civilians and police officers during the slaughter.

It was believed to be the Collin County DA’s first terrorism conviction. Federal authorities handed off their investigation to the state because Azizi-Yarand, who was 17 at the time, could not be prosecuted in federal court due to his age.

Azizi-Yarand pleaded guilty to charges of solicitation of capital murder and making a terroristic threat in Collin County district court.

The former Plano West Senior High School student reached out online for help with the terrorist plot.

He planned it for May 2018 during Ramadan so no Muslims would be hurt, Brown said. Ramadan is Islam’s holiest month and includes prayers, fasting from dawn to dusk and nightly feasts.

Azizi-Yarand sent more than $1,400 to an undercover FBI employee to buy weapons and tactical gear, and he conducted surveillance of the mall during the planning stages to learn the layout, authorities said.

During one conversation, he allegedly said: “I’d actually like to make a cop surrender and drop his gun, then douse him with gasoline and burn him and record it,” according to court records.

Azizi-Yarand acted alone and that no others are implicated in the terrorism plot.

Azizi-Yarand was motivated by his allegiance to Islamic State and had professed his hatred for the U.S. in writings he called a “Message to America” that expressed his “twisted beliefs.”

Azizi-Yarand said he wanted to wait until he was 18 so he could buy a rifle himself.

He allegedly also told the FBI source that he had learned about Islam and Islamic State on the internet. In one message, he said he had settled on a local attack.

The teen also allegedly sent the source several types of Islamic State propaganda. There were links to videos about life in the Islamic State and about being a martyr, as well as an image with the Islamic State flag and a gun and the text “Jihad [Struggle/Fight] and the rifle alone. NO negotiations, NO conferences and NO dialogue.”

In one message to the undercover employee, Azizi-Yarand allegedly said, “I’m expecting each of us having 10 mags minimum, so for that you’d need 900 rounds.”